Investigating serum levels of IL-6 and TNF alpha, and the risk of thrombosis in newly diagnosed chemotherapy naïve obese cancer patients.

Background: Obesity and cancer increase thrombosis risk. IL-6 and TNF-α, are key inflammatory cytokines, which may contribute to hypercoagulability in newly diagnosed, chemotherapy-naïve obese cancer patients, warranting further investigation. This study aimed to investigate the serum levels of these inflammatory biomarkers and risk of VTE in chemotherapy naïve obese cancer patients (CNOCPs).

Methodology: The study was cross-sectional analytical in design. The participants consisted of newly diagnosed patients with solid malignancies recruited from adult oncology clinics of a Nigerian tertiary hospital. They were grouped into two: case group (n = 37) consisting of chemotherapy naïve OCPs and control group (n = 63) consisting of chemotherapy naïve non-OCPs Patients were risk assessed using the Khorana scoring system. All the patients' serum samples were assayed by ELISA technique for IL-6 and TNF-α. History of VTE was obtained from the patients' case notes and by direct interviews with the patients.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 48.44±13.4 (range = 20 - 76) years, and the mean BMI was 26.80±6.3Kg/m². The mean levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly higher in chemotherapy naïve OCPs than the controls (7.9 ± 1.2 vs. 6.5 ±1.2, p < 0.001 and 5.2 ± 2.3 vs. 4.1 ± 1.9, p = 0.012 respectively. Also, chemotherapy naïve OCPs had a three-fold higher risk of VTE than the controls (OR: 3.0; 95% CI: 1.1-7.5; p= 0.03).

Conclusion: The inflammatory biomarkers were significantly higher in chemotherapy naïve OCPs than the non-obese controls. Additionally, they are at higher risk of VTE. These findings could strengthen clinicians' disposition for prompt initiation of thromboprophylaxis in OCPs.